AfCFTA pledges support for Nigerian businesses

The Nigeria African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) coordination office has pledged its commitment to supporting Nigerian businesses in exporting their products under its framework. A representative of the office, Franca Achimugu, told journalists that the office was mandated to ensure businesses made the most out of AfCFTA. “Nigeria (AfCFTA) coordination office, under the leadership of the national coordinator, Mr Olusegun Awolowo, is committed to supporting Nigerian businesses to export under the AfCFTA framework. This tool is one of several efforts by the coordination office in ensuring that businesses make the most out of the AfCFTA,” she said. Ms Achimugu said the office had embarked on a three-fold project to ensure women and youths in Nigeria gained more visibility in the AfCFTA market.
“First is to undertake a study to identify 10 top traded products by women and youths. This is to provide a clear understanding of the most economically significant products and provide deep market insights to support market development. Secondly, to develop a step-by-step market access guide for these identified products and inaugurate a marketplace platform that will support market visibility and entry for women and youth traders in the targeted 10 products. This does not in any way imply that other products are not significant, but provides a foundation on which other priorities can be built,” she said. Citing Nigeria’s strategy for the AfCFTA, Ms Achimugu said some interventions necessary for implementing the AfCFTA in Nigeria had been identified.
She listed them as product prioritisation, capacity development on competitive production, providing trade information, forming business linkages, and developing SEZs, among others. According to her, the final validation of the market access guide and the marketplace platform for the women and youth are deliverables from a project. She, however, reiterated the importance of collaboration among key stakeholders to ensure the implementation of AfCFTA in the country. The coordinator for FABID Consulting, Abiodun Folarewo, who also spoke to journalists, highlighted new improvements to the Market Access Guide aimed at simplifying trade processes under the ACFTA.
Mr Folarewo said the process had been made more seamless, enabling business operators to easily access the e-commerce section. According to him, the guide simplifies the registration process for importers and traders looking to conduct business under AfCFTA. According to him, the Market Access Guide will be finalised in the coming weeks and deposited with the Nigeria AfCFTA coordination office, which will oversee its distribution. The primary objective of the guide is to provide comprehensive information about AfCFTA and its benefits to women and youth traders. NAN